Did Jesus Go To Hell On The Sabbath Before Easter Sunday?

Jesus willingly gave His life on a Friday afternoon before sunset when the Sabbath began. It is known as Good Friday because He forgave all sin on the Cross and conquered death. Not much is said about the Sabbath day that followed His death and preceded Easter resurrection morning in modern Western churches. Yet it is a profound and central truth of Christianity.

Some do not believe that Jesus went to Hell after His crucifixion. Yet, throughout church history, the day has been celebrated along with Good Friday and Easter Sunday as the Great Sabbath, Holy Saturday, Joyous Saturday, and the Saturday of the Glory/Light because it was the day Jesus descended into Hell while His physical body lay in the tomb, and proclaimed victory over satan and death. The medieval English term for His descent is the 'Harrowing of Hell' (Matthew 12:40; Acts 2:24,31; Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:9; Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 3:18-19,4:6).

The ancient world viewed the underworld as the place where the dead went and the "prison" of satan and the evil angels. The word "hell" in Greek is 'hades.' The New Testament uses a few different terms, including the place of eternal torment of the unrighteous, known as the Abyss, Gehenna, Hades, and Sheol.

Jesus assured the thief on the Cross Friday that "today" he would "be with" Him "in paradise" (Gk: 'paradeisos,' which means an enclosed park or garden and is also used to refer to Heaven, the home of God) (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 ESV). "Paradise," also known as "Abraham's Bosom, was one of several metaphorical terms used in the Bible referring to the place/prison where the departed saints of old were placed until the resurrection of Jesus when He "descended into the lower regions," unlocked the gates with the "keys of hell and death, "just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale," and liberated the captive saints there who died waiting for the Messiah and, at the same time, subdued their demonic captors (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 1:21,2:1,4:8-10). It was part of Hades (aka Hell, or Sheol, in the Old Testament - see Psalm 16:10; 63:9), which was the realm of the dead who were conscious and aware. Hades and Paradise/Abraham's Bosom had a gulf between them (Luke 16:19-31).

Jesus descended to Hell and experienced death like all people do. His body was buried, and His spirit/soul departed from it. He did not descend into the place of torment and experience the horrors of Hell, where those who reject Him as Lord and Savior go to experience the just and righteous wrath of God for eternity.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in ever respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15 ESV).

In the early church, there were two prominent statements of similar belief, The Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed. Years after it was written, the Apostles' Creed added the words "he descended into hell [hades]" because it refers to the physical state of death. The terms were used to fight against a growing heresy known as Apollinarianism that taught Jesus had a human body and sensitive human soul, but a divine mind and not a rational human mind, with the Divine Logos taking the place of the latter.

THE APOSTLE'S CREED

The Creeds are one of the church's most ancient confessions. To this day, they are still used by many denominations. The traditional language version affirms that Jesus, as fully human and full God, "descended into hell," and the contemporary version states that Jesus "descended to the dead."

"I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell. The third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (or universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."

These words are to remind and guide us as we acknowledge our trusting-faith in Jesus and understanding of the essential doctrines of Christianity. When we confess that Jesus "descended into hell," we are confirming an event that happened in the past and making a claim that He lives in and through us today and that the One who dwells in us did not consider death and the prison of Hell as barriers blocking Him from saving us.